Endangered animals news for Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams, Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry

Labels: TV Series, Video

DOC kakapo recovery manager Deidre Vercoe said infertility had been a big problem and this was a significant breakthrough.
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Six female kakapo were artificially inseminated using different sperm storage techniques. Sperm collected and refrigerated for two to five hours before insemination was the most successful method, resulting in two female chicks.

There was little rimu fruit ripening this year and the birds were not expected to breed.

Labels: Kakapo Parrots

Only in recent years did scientists find that the secretive aquatic mammal migrates from shallow to deep water.

Now researchers can reveal that the manatees make this perilous journey to avoid being exposed to attack by predators during the low-water season.

That means the species may be at greater risk than thought, say scientists, as migration and low water levels make them vulnerable to hunters.

The international team of researchers from Brazil and the UK publish their findings in the Journal of Zoology.

Labels: Amazonian Manatees

Dana Holeckova, director of the Dvur-Kralove zoo in central Czech Republic said, "We must offer them this last chance, in their natural environment in Africa."

There's only eight remaining Northern White rhinos in existence all living in captivity, six at Dvur-Kralove and two more at San Diego Zoo in the United States.
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The four being returned, two males and two females, will be transferred by air on December 19th.

Jambo! Just landed in Nairobi. Warm and sunny. More follows....

An hour away from rhinos arriving from Nairobi. Great excitement here at Ol Pejeta. Phone reception still dodgy tho.

Finally in land of signal. Rhino translocation went flawlessly, fantastically. So happy for Ol Pejeta, @FaunaFloraInt, Czech Rep zoo.

Landed. Despite the chill and damp of the old metrop it's good to be back. Operation Rhino fabulous success. Now let Christmas begin.

Labels: Northern White Rhinos, Stephen Fry, Video

The IRF, SRI, and most parties agree:

* Wild populations of NWR are likely extinct in DRC and the Sudan
* The remaining eight individuals in captivity are not reproductively ideal
* Steps to preserve genetic material from the captive population are needed immediately
* Crossing NWR with SWR is the only remaining option

However, the IRF and SRI do not endorse the concept that the only way to succeed with this effort is to move the remaining animals to Africa.

The hope of the NWR Conservation Project is that relocating the rhinos to a natural environment will stimulate breeding - and preserve critical genetic material by allowing NWR to breed with the far more numerous Southern white rhino. In addition, AI options are being explored.
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Proponents acknowledge that while there is no way to predict whether or not moving the rhinos to Africa will result in successful breeding, they also point out that captive southern white rhinos do not have a strong record of reproduction in captivity - and require “wild supplements” from time to time.

Labels: Northern White Rhinos